Season of Winterfell: FFS vs NAY

There were many shifts in the Super League. After the Merge of Bdr and N30 to become BaN, mergers seemed to come in a bit of fashion. NFI merged with WTF becoming FFS, Utb merged with Nbe. Many mid-sized alliances also benefited from the player shakeup that was occurring in Westeros. WxC and BaN are on one level. Basically, competition for each other. HOH, Nbe and FFS would be the next group. These would be our even matchups. The remaining spots are up in the air with many great alliances jockeying for position in more evenly matched match ups. When I saw our opponent, I knew what the outcome would be. Hopefully we would get some exciting fights before it became too one sided. The initial battle for the Hot Springs and Armory is always epic even in the lopsided matches.

We matched with NAY

As I glanced around the battlefield before the match, I was in awe of the participation levels. I should be used to it, but these events are way more fun when you have full participation.

I looked forward to these early moments, ready to see all the marches streaming into Hot Springs for one good knock down drag out fight for dominance and cheaper healing lol, These early moments you tend to have hope that “anything” could happen still.  Loads of players come running in from both sides culminating in the battle royale.. In fact, I would argue that, what happens in the Armory and Hot Springs in those early moments let you know exactly how the match will play out. If those buildings go back and forth between the battling alliances, you have a very balanced match. If you get swallowed whole, there is a good chance you will get pinned in at your base early. No one really wants to be pinned in the base, but that is often how these matches play out.

NAY came out fighting, no one had told them they were the underdog, or maybe they had and they responded not today. I watched their players stream into the Hot Springs while waiting on my march (why is inf so flipping slooooooooow).

When I had finally arrived, I jumped into the fight with glee. Only one march had made it up so far. The others were still taking bases on their way up. As I watched the players melt from the attacks of my alliance, it became clear what kind of match this would be.

We took over the Hot Springs and began to move up to their bases. One by one until we owned all of the territory.

Eventually the inevitable happened and they were pinned in. Surrounded by FFS just waiting for them to step outside the safety of their base. There were some brave souls who would come out and battle, just to either die a death by mob as everyone in my alliance was hungry for elims.

Others would attack while positioned in the safety of their base, targeting players that may have gone afk or just seemed like easy targets.

At this stage of the match, it is not uncommon for both the winning side and losing side to begin to go afk.

People tend to want to save their heals for a winnable match. I didn’t end up redoing my march the entire match. I got some heals in but this was a very lopsided matchup in our favor this time. At the end of the match we handily won, barely allowing them any points.

We needed the win since our first match against BaN had us in the same position that NAY was today.

We take the wins where we can find them knowing that the next match can be impossible. I hope our next match is against HOH or Nbe. As all three of our alliances seem equally yoked, I am curious to how we would hold up. I know Nbe had a win against HOH, so where does FFS fit into the group. Can we win? The only certainty is those matches would not have anyone pinned in the base. There would be lots of changes in the ownership of the bases and strongholds on the match. I dream of how epic those battles would be as everyone is literally fighting for the win the whole match.

No one likes to lose a match, and sometimes there is literally nothing you can do when the old gods hand you an opponent so exponentially stronger. Try and find the joy in the little things and don’t let it make you want to give up. Be proud of the small individual fights you did good at. Experiment with your lines. Heck make it a drinking game. Every time a march dies do a shot lol.

You just have to keep on improving slowly but surely. Confident in the knowledge that one day with a lot of hard work, determination and black diamonds you too can become the unbeatable one. I wasn’t always as strong as I am now, and I am nowhere near as strong as I will one day be. This game is a marathon not a sprint.